Sadness lingers over family's fire deaths

Updated 9:40 am, Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Photo: Kin Man Hui

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Orlin Ordonez, middle, father of one year old twins Daniel and Orlin, grieves at the site during a vigil on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Several hundred people gathered at the property where Roxanne Cortez and her one-year-old twin sons, Daniel and Orlin, perished from a Monday afternoon blaze fueled by high winds. People huddled together with candles and said prayers to mourn the victims.

Orlin Ordonez, middle, father of one year old twins Daniel and Orlin, grieves at the site during a vigil on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Several hundred people gathered at the property where Roxanne Cortez and her

Mourners gather with candles during a vigil for a mother and her one-year-old twin boys who perished in a fire at 8153 Pearsall Road on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Roxanne Ordonez and her twin boys, Daniel and Orlin, perished from a fire fueled by high winds on Monday afternoon. Several hundred gathered at the burned out site to pay their respects for the victims.

Mourners gather with candles during a vigil for a mother and her one-year-old twin boys who perished in a fire at 8153 Pearsall Road on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Roxanne Ordonez and her twin boys, Daniel and

Several hundred mourners gather for a candlelight vigil for Roxanne Ordonez and her one-year-old twin sons, Daniel and Orlin, who perished in a fire on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. On Monday afternoon, a fire fueled by high winds took the lives of Ordonez and her twin boys at their home off 8153 Pearsall Road.

Several hundred mourners gather for a candlelight vigil for Roxanne Ordonez and her one-year-old twin sons, Daniel and Orlin, who perished in a fire on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. On Monday afternoon, a fire fueled

Shirley Zapata (center) and her friend, Willie Johnson, say a prayer before the start of a vigil to remember a mother and her twin boys who perished in a fire at 8153 Pearsall Road on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Zapata's cousin, Roxanne Ordonez, along with her one-year-old twin boys, Daniel and Orlin, perished from the fire fueled by high winds on Monday afternoon. Several hundred mourners gathered at the fire-damaged site to pay their respects to the deceased.

Shirley Zapata (center) and her friend, Willie Johnson, say a prayer before the start of a vigil to remember a mother and her twin boys who perished in a fire at 8153 Pearsall Road on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013.

Siblings Brooke (left) and Bethany Zepeda pause to view the devastation of a fire that took the lives of their aunt and cousins on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. The two sisters were there for a candlelight vigil joined by several hundred other mourners for Roxanne Ordonez and her one-year-old twin boys, Daniel and Orlin, who perished from the fire fueled by high winds on Monday afternoon.

Siblings Brooke (left) and Bethany Zepeda pause to view the devastation of a fire that took the lives of their aunt and cousins on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. The two sisters were there for a candlelight vigil

A child's school work is seen up against a fence in front of a house at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Driven by high winds, a fire destroyed five houses in the neighborhood on Monday. It also killed a mother and her two twin one-year-olds.

A child's school work is seen up against a fence in front of a house at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Driven by high winds, a fire destroyed five houses in the neighborhood on

Ten-year-old Mary Ybarra stands in front of what is left of her family's home at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. A fire, driven by high wind, tore through the neighborhood and destroyed five home and took the lives of Ybarra's aunt and her two one-year-old cousins.

Ten-year-old Mary Ybarra stands in front of what is left of her family's home at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. A fire, driven by high wind, tore through the neighborhood and

From left, Juan Lugo, Rudy Lugo and Rene Lugo help clean up debris at their brother's three unit apartment building at 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. A multi-structure fire driven by high winds destroyed fives residences in the neighborhood on Monday.

From left, Juan Lugo, Rudy Lugo and Rene Lugo help clean up debris at their brother's three unit apartment building at 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. A multi-structure fire driven by

A burnt boat is seen in the yard of Reyes Lugo's residence in the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. The fire also destroyed his three-unit apartment and four other residences in the area on Monday.

A burnt boat is seen in the yard of Reyes Lugo's residence in the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. The fire also destroyed his three-unit apartment and four other residences in the area

A partially melted swing hangs in the yard of Reyes Lugo's yard in the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. A multi-structure fire driven by high winds destroyed fives residences in the neighborhood on Monday.

A partially melted swing hangs in the yard of Reyes Lugo's yard in the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. A multi-structure fire driven by high winds destroyed fives residences in the

Rosie Lugo, 57, holds her grandson, Avery Lugo, 2, as she watches clean up efforts at her residence in the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Lugo and her family lost a three-unit apartment building that housed them and members of her family. The Monday afternoon fire also destroyed four other residences and killed a mother and her twin one-year-old sons.

Rosie Lugo, 57, holds her grandson, Avery Lugo, 2, as she watches clean up efforts at her residence in the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Lugo and her family lost a three-unit

People gather and watch the remains of an apartment fire in the 10800 block of Sahara Street, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. San Antonio Fire Department arson investigators as looking for the cause of the Monday afternoon fire that affected several units.

People gather and watch the remains of an apartment fire in the 10800 block of Sahara Street, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. San Antonio Fire Department arson investigators as looking for the cause of the Monday

April Steiner, 27, smiles after San Antonio firefighters were able to retreive her purse from her destroyed apartment in the 10800 block of Sahara Street, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. A fire destroyed several units at the complex Monday afternoon.

April Steiner, 27, smiles after San Antonio firefighters were able to retreive her purse from her destroyed apartment in the 10800 block of Sahara Street, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. A fire destroyed several units

Luis and Rita Fonseca, of Lytle, watch what remains of a multi-structure fire in the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. In front are the remains of his cousin's house and the scene where a mother and her twin one-year-olds died. The Monday afternoon fire destroyed five houses in the neighborhood.

Luis and Rita Fonseca, of Lytle, watch what remains of a multi-structure fire in the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. In front are the remains of his cousin's house and the scene where a

People cry after being told of the deaths at a burned home in the 8100 block of Pearsall Road. Relatives said they had been told that their loved ones — a woman and her twin 1-year-old sons — had died in the house.

People cry after being told of the deaths at a burned home in the 8100 block of Pearsall Road. Relatives said they had been told that their loved ones — a woman and her twin 1-year-old sons — had died in

Fire crews investigate the site of a wind-fueled fire that killed three people Monday afternoon.

Fire crews investigate the site of a wind-fueled fire that killed three people Monday afternoon.

Photo: Ana Ley/Express-News

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Fires kill three, destroy five homes

Fires kill three, destroy five homes

Photo: Harry Thomas

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A firefighter goes through the wreckage at one of the homes that burned in the Pearsall Road fire. In San Antonio, wind gusts ranged from 30 to 50 mph.

A firefighter goes through the wreckage at one of the homes that burned in the Pearsall Road fire. In San Antonio, wind gusts ranged from 30 to 50 mph.

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San Antonio Fire Department personnel wrap up a structure fire at 107 Blakeley Drive, Sunday February 22, 2015. According to SAFD Capt. Shawn Griffin, a passerby saw flames coming out of a window air conditioner unit and when the when they arrived, one room of the house was fully involved. He estimates damages at $40,000. less

San Antonio Fire Department personnel wrap up a structure fire at 107 Blakeley Drive, Sunday February 22, 2015. According to SAFD Capt. Shawn Griffin, a passerby saw flames coming out of a window air ... more

Photo: JERRY LARA, San Antonio Express-News

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San Antonio Fire Department take a breather after working a structure fire at 107 Blakeley Drive, Sunday February 22, 2015. According to SAFD Capt. Shawn Griffin, a passerby saw flames coming out of a window air conditioner unit and when the when they arrived, one room of the house was fully involved. He estimates damages at $40,000. less

San Antonio Fire Department take a breather after working a structure fire at 107 Blakeley Drive, Sunday February 22, 2015. According to SAFD Capt. Shawn Griffin, a passerby saw flames coming out of a window ... more

Photo: JERRY LARA, San Antonio Express-News

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San Antonio Fire Department personnel work a structure fire at 107 Blakeley Drive, Sunday February 22, 2015. According to SAFD Capt. Shawn Griffin, a passerby saw flames coming out of a window air conditioner unit and when the when they arrived, one room of the house was fully involved. He estimates damages at $40,000. less

San Antonio Fire Department personnel work a structure fire at 107 Blakeley Drive, Sunday February 22, 2015. According to SAFD Capt. Shawn Griffin, a passerby saw flames coming out of a window air conditioner ... more

Photo: JERRY LARA, San Antonio Express-News

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A elderly woman is comforted as emergency personnel battle a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds. The woman was pulled out of a house next to the burning structures.

A elderly woman is comforted as emergency personnel battle a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds. The woman was pulled out of a

San Antonio Fire Department personnel work a structure fire at 107 Blakeley Drive, Sunday February 22, 2015. According to SAFD Capt. Shawn Griffin, a passerby saw flames coming out of a window air conditioner unit and when the when they arrived, one room of the house was fully involved. He estimates damages at $40,000. less

San Antonio Fire Department personnel work a structure fire at 107 Blakeley Drive, Sunday February 22, 2015. According to SAFD Capt. Shawn Griffin, a passerby saw flames coming out of a window air conditioner ... more

Photo: JERRY LARA, San Antonio Express-News

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San Antonio Fire Department personnel work a structure fire at 107 Blakeley Drive, Sunday February 22, 2015. According to SAFD Capt. Shawn Griffin, a passerby saw flames coming out of a window air conditioner unit and when the when they arrived, one room of the house was fully involved. He estimates damages at $40,000. less

San Antonio Fire Department personnel work a structure fire at 107 Blakeley Drive, Sunday February 22, 2015. According to SAFD Capt. Shawn Griffin, a passerby saw flames coming out of a window air conditioner ... more

Photo: JERRY LARA, San Antonio Express-News

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Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one of the houses was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition.

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one of the houses was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition.

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one

Concrete piers and support columns are all that is left of a house as emergency personnel battle a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one of the houses was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition.

Concrete piers and support columns are all that is left of a house as emergency personnel battle a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one of the houses was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition.

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one of the houses was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition.

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one of the houses was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition.

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one of the houses was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition.

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one of the houses was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition.

Emergency personnel work a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses. An 83-year-old woman pulled out of one

People react at the scene of a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses.

People react at the scene of a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses.

Photo: Jerry Lara, San Antonio Express-News

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People react at the scene of a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses.

People react at the scene of a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses.

Photo: Jerry Lara, San Antonio Express-News

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People react at the scene of a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses.

People react at the scene of a multi-structure fire at the 8100 block of Old Pearsall Road, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. The fire was fueled by high winds and destroyed five houses.

Photo: Jerry Lara, San Antonio Express-News

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Juan Lugo puts out a hot spot at his uncle's three-unit apartment building in the 8100 block of Pearsall Road, one of the buildings burned in a fire the day before that took the lives of a woman and her two young sons who lived in a nearby home.

Juan Lugo puts out a hot spot at his uncle's three-unit apartment building in the 8100 block of Pearsall Road, one of the buildings burned in a fire the day before that took the lives of a woman and her two

Rosie Lugo holds grandson Avery Lugo as she watches cleanup efforts at the apartments, where she lived.

Rosie Lugo holds grandson Avery Lugo as she watches cleanup efforts at the apartments, where she lived.

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Sadness lingers over family's fire deaths

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The sobs and wails of Orlin Ordonez Sr. were joined by a chorus of “Hail Marys” on Tuesday night as a few hundred people clutching candles gathered in the darkness around the rubble of a fire that took the lives of his wife and two infant sons.

Investigators haven't determined what sparked Monday afternoon's fire in the 8100 block of Pearsall Road, which killed the three, whom relatives have identified as Roxanne Cortez, 31, and her 1-year-old twin sons, Orlin Jr. and Daniel.

The fire began in the home Cortez shared with her parents, her husband and their four children, and it destroyed a neighboring home, a storage shed and a three-unit apartment building.

“Orlin is having a really hard time with this,” said Debbie Jo Fonseca, Cortez's second cousin. “I was right next to him during the vigil, and we had to take him away.”

Fonseca said the couple's eldest daughter, Karizma, 11, is struggling with the reality that her mother is dead.

“I spent about 20 minutes with her this morning, and all she was doing was screaming, 'I want my mommy!'” she said. “After the vigil, she was still just crying and crying.”

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Fonseca said the family is asking for cash donations to help with the cost of the three funerals they're trying to plan, as well as donations of clothing for Ordonez, Karizma and the fourth child, Selena, 3. An account was set up Tuesday evening, and anyone wishing to make a donation can do so under the name of Cortez's mother, Vangie Chaires, at any local Wells Fargo bank branch.

The San Antonio Head Start program is accepting donations of money, food and clothing for the family.

“I know a lot of people have insurance, but the fact was that they didn't,” Fonseca said. “Her mother and father have also been displaced, and they lost their only child in this fire.”

Jessica Rivera was among those at the candlelight vigil. She said she used to live with Cortez on a plot of land now covered with ashes, broken glass and burned-out shells of cars and appliances.

“We used to go running right back here to try and lose weight,” she said, pointing to a large pasture behind the home in rural Southwest Bexar County.

Rivera and Cortez met in middle school and quickly became friends. When Rivera heard news of a fire in the area Monday, she sent her friend a Facebook message.

“I said 'I heard about the fire, I want to make sure you're OK, please call me,'” she said. “But then at 10, they released a name, and I lost it.”

She remembered her friend as an animal lover and said her house was “like Noah's Ark” with all the companions she found and cared for.

Before the vigil, friends and relatives helped Reyes Lugo sift through the remains of the apartment building where he lived with his wife. The couple and their 2-year-old grandson escaped unscathed.

But Lugo and his wife lost everything except a rooster, which crowed in its cage as the men picked through the rubble. The fire killed about 15 chickens, two roosters and a dozen doves they kept behind the apartments.

Fonseca said she has been spending time trying to comfort Chaires, Cortez's mother.

“She said Roxanne was her everything and her best friend,” Fonseca said. “She said she loved to laugh, but most importantly, and this is the sentiment you'll get from anyone who knew her, she was a wonderful mother.”